For the Life of the World
by Alexander Schmemann
Anselm’s Take:
Every Christian I’ve ever met struggles with one question: how Sunday is supposed to translate to the rest of the week. For the Life of the World answers this question–but it also raises the stakes still further, explaining how our entire encounter with the world can be an act of worship.
Schmemann argues that the life of the world is sacramental–in other words, that the world is supposed to be a means of communion with God. Then he answers the burning follow-up question: how does that work? He zeroes in on the role of the sacraments in the life of the church (in ways that are surprisingly ecumenical), and in the process offers a concrete path forward for the reader who wants to encounter God in everyday life.
This book is in Anselm’s top 5 for anyone looking to understand what it means to have a Christian imagination, precisely because Schmemann gives specifics where so many others stop at generalities. It’s worth multiple reads (and extended conversations) because in its short length, it provides an account of the world in which God really is present everywhere.
by Brian Brown
Publisher’s Description:
“In For the Life of the World Alexander Schmemann suggests an approach to the world and life within it, which stems from the liturgical experience of the Orthodox Church. He understands issues such as secularism and Christian culture from the perspective of the unbroken experience of the Church, as revealed and communicated in her worship, in her liturgy the sacrament of the world, the sacrament of the Kingdom. Of what life do we speak, what life do we preach, proclaim, and announce when, as Christians, we confess that Christ died for the life of the world? In For the Life of the World Alexander Schmemann suggests an approach to the world and life within it, which stems from the liturgical experience of the Orthodox Church. He understands issues such as secularism and Christian culture from the perspective of the unbroken experience of the Church, as revealed and communicated in her worship, in her liturgy the sacrament of the world, the sacrament of the Kingdom. For over half a century For the Life of the World has challenged, illumined, and inspired readers from many backgrounds. For some it is an introduction to the Orthodox Church, while for others it is a call to plunge more deeply into the life of the Kingdom, both manifested and anticipated here and now in the liturgy of the Church. This updated edition of Schmemann s classic text includes a new foreword by Dr Edith M. Humphrey, along with new explanatory notes and an index.”
Learn more about the book on Amazon.
For the Life of the World, by Alexander Schmemann (St Vlademirs Seminary Press, 2018)